Moving forward

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Following the announcement on 21st November from Nissan that it has suspended its London Taxi Project pending the outcome of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone consultation, there have been many comments from the trade. The whole ULEZ consultation means there are many unanswered questions about the future of the trade at the moment. The fact is that that currently there is no taxi available to buy that is zero emission capable, but by 2018 this may have changed. Taxi Globe asked Peter Johansen, Vice President of The London Taxi Company for his comments. He said: “The London taxi trade is world famous for its high standards and proud heritage. It is a trade we are hugely proud to serve.

“The industry across the globe is continuously adapting to reflect evolving consumer needs, changing economic conditions and the need to become more sustainable and universally accessible to all. This is especially the case in London where regulators set a high pace for change. Nissan’s decision to postpone the launch of their taxi into London is the most recent reflection of some of these factors. But our previous difficulties and the issues currently being faced by Mercedes/KPM only serve to underline that success within the London hackney carriage market is no mean feat.

“That’s why we deliberately design and produce a purpose built taxi to meet the conditions for the London market. It’s also why we are always seeking new ways to improve the vehicle quality and service care we provide to our customers. This matters now more than ever. We know that some drivers will be disappointed not to see a new entrant into the market at this point. But we’re also confident in the product we’re offering now for professional drivers that want to drive the original iconic London Taxi, which is a favourite for tourists and commuters alike. Competition is vital for any automotive manufacturer and we know we must always fight for our place in London and beyond. The London Taxi now graces the streets of more than 40 cities across the world with any success firmly based on the foundations set and maintained by thousands of men and women in our capital city.

“As we move forward as a company and develop new products and services to meet changing demands we are confident that our experience and, more importantly, our relationship with the trade – from industry bodies to individual drivers – provides us with a clear competitive advantage.
“We are proud of our joint heritage with the London Taxi trade and our historical standing as a truly British icon. This is what drives us, every minute of every day.”

Taxicabnews

Highbury Corner bridge replacement

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TfL are replacing the bridge at Highbury Corner – the bridge was built around 1850 to carry the Holloway Road (A1) over London Overground’s East London line and Network Rail’s Northern line. Highbury & Islington station sits on the bridge. Now the bridge carries more than 25,000 vehicles a day over the railway lines by Highbury and Islington station. One lane of traffic in each direction will remain open throughout the duration of the works. Nick Fairholme, Director of Projects & Programmes for Surface Transport at TfL, said: “Highbury Corner is a key junction in London and it is therefore important that we ensure that it can continue to remain usable and safe for years to come.

We are committed to completing these bridge works as quickly and efficiently as possible and will keep the local community and road users informed of progress as we work to deliver these vital improvements.”

During these works, TfL will also continue to develop a scheme to remove the Highbury Corner gyratory, creating new facilities for pedestrians and cyclists as well as improving the look and feel of the local area. These improvements, which form part of TfL’s 33 “Better Junctions” programme, will help transform the area and support the continuing regeneration of Highbury. A consultation will begin on the final concept design for these plans by late 2015.

OLD POST OFFICE
The empty Post Office building needs to be demolished, and TfL expect to start work in the week beginning Monday 5 January 2015. The demolition work will be completed by March 2015.

ROAD CLOSURES: HIGHBURY STATION ROAD AND HIGHBURY CRESCENT
Highbury Station Road (east of Swan Yard) will be closed from the end of 2014 and Highbury Crescent (between Highbury Terrace and Highbury Place) will be closed from January 2015. Both will be closed for the duration of the works.

Taxicabnews

Taxi drivers benefiting from more card fares

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Findings from the VeriFone TransAction Driver Reward Scheme confirm that card taxi fare payments have increased by up to 14.5% since the scheme began in March 2013.

Results show that cab drivers who rent their cab and are using the VeriFone system took an average of 19 card transactions each in November 2013 – an increase of 14.5% since the Scheme began in March. Ben Priestley of VeriFone stressed how important it is for drivers to adjust to the needs of their passengers. “Not everyone wanted to accept cards at first but the majority of drivers now give their passengers the choice.

They’re keeping the business that they’d previously turned away, they’re giving the public the option and they’re helping to combat competition from public transport and private hire. We must keep the momentum up and provide drivers with the best solutions, deals and benefits.”

For More news articles please vist: http://taxicabnews.co.uk/latestissue.html

ComCab celebrates 40 years of serving London

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Back in May 1974 a small dedicated team, backed by a hardworking core of 64 London taxi drivers, got together and formed one of the first modern radio taxi circuits in the capital.

They called it London Wide Radio Taxis, which later became ComCab. General Manager of ComCab London, Malcolm Paice commented: “It is a real testament to our drivers, staff and customers that ComCab continues to enjoy its position as one of the leading taxi circuits in London – even 40 years after its creation. Those early pioneer drivers worked long and hard to build the business up, and today we are carrying on their good work. Of course many of those friends and colleagues who were there at the beginning are sadly no longer with us, but we will honour their memories by continuing to be the biggest and busiest circuit in the capital.”

Today, ComCab is part of the UK wide CityFleet group and ComCab taxis can be found in Birmingham, Liverpool, Aberdeen and Edinburgh, as well as London. Tony Norris, who runs the ComCab Knowledge School, which was started up in 2005 added: “It’s clear to me that ComCab is the most forward thinking of the taxi circuits. They have led with technology, have consistently offered drivers the most work and they had the foresight to start up a free Knowledge School when the trade was struggling to bring new blood into the industry.

The ComCab Knowledge School is now one of London’s leading Knowledge institutions and I think it’s this kind of vision that has kept ComCab at the top of their game.” Over their 40 year history, ComCab has absorbed a number of other taxi businesses, including suburban fleets, DataCab and the innovative Zingo service- which was a forerunner of many of the modern day taxi apps.

Last year ComCab launched its own iPhone app and also acquired TaxiApp – a taxi booking smartphone app. Malcolm concluded: “40 years ago we used to take bookings on job dockets and despatch them over two-way radio and back then that was using technology the best we could. Today we take bookings online and via our apps, and we still operate the largest call centre in our sector, with work being despatched lightning fast over the cellular data networks. Our business has always used technology to make our customer’s lives easier but ultimately it is our drivers and their purpose built taxis that will deliver a world class service to Londoners and we hope that will continue for another 40 years.”

ComCab
Courtsey of Taxicab News

Shell Centre plan

Shell Centre plan gets Green light

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The Green light has been given to plans for the redevelopment of the Shell Centre site on the South Bank. The 27-storey Shell Centre Tower will remain the centrepiece of the new site, and will continue to be owned and occupied by Shell.

It will be complemented by eight new buildings, one of which will incorporate new offices and trading floors for Shell, enabling all of their 4,000 London-based staff to be located together on the South Bank for the first time. The new development will have new retail units, restaurants and cafés and will incorporate up to 877 new homes, including affordable housing. The construction will continue over an anticipated six-year period.

Shell Centre plan
Courtesy of Taxicabnews

Taxi Protests

Taxi protest gridlocks Barcelona and Madrid

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Traffic ground to a halt in the centres of Barcelona and Madrid when taxi drivers strike protested over the presence of car-pooling agencies operating in Europe. At least 4,000 cabbies joined the demonstration in Barcelona, some of whom suffered physical violence and vandalism through road rage when they blocked the most heavily-frequented streets and squares including the Plaza de Catalunya and the Plaça de Sant Jaume, and the Sants railway station.

In Madrid several thousand taxis joined a nose-to-tail ‘march’ blasting their horns all the way along the Paseo de la Castellana, the city’s main business district. In both cities, travelling by road was practically impossible. Cabbies across the country are up in arms over the presence in the market of car-pooling agencies, which are unregulated.

The main ones, Über in the USA and BlaBlaCar in France, operate in over 115 cities throughout Europe and the United States, and insist on certain minimum criteria for drivers – including a clean licence, mechanically-sound vehicles and sufficient insurance to cover injuries or loss to passengers.

The European Commission has refused to outlaw these agencies, saying taxi drivers are merely trying to protect their monopoly by shutting other companies out of their field, and Über itself has said the protests are ‘out of proportion’ and ‘just a tactic to close the doors to new alternatives for the consumer and maintain an immobile state’. Catalunya, however, has already mentioned plans to ban Über and BlaBlaCar from operating in its towns and cities, despite the companies being fully ‘legal’ and given the seal of approval by the European Commission.

A recent change to Spanish legislation now means anyone who offers lifts for a profit can be fined between 4,000 and 18,000 euros, and the passengers can also be forced to cough up between 400 and 600 euros for using the service. After a flood of panicked questions from members of the public when details of the new rules hit the headlines, the government clarified that this would not be the case where work colleagues share car-space to get to the office or friends and neighbours give each other a lift as a favour. Taxi protests also took place in Paris, Berlin, London, Milan and Naples.

Taxi Protests

 

Tottenham Court Road vision

More plans to ban vehicles in Tottenham Court Road area

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Further plans to transform the Tottenham Court Road have been unveiled by Camden Council ahead of the opening of the new Crossrail station in 2018.

Taxis, along with other vehicles, except buses and cyclists (of course!) will be banned from Tottenham Court Road, Monday to Saturday from 8am to 7pm. From 8am-7pm, Monday to Saturday local access for cars, taxis and loading would be allowed on short sections of Tottenham Court Road via side roads. Gower Street and Bloomsbury Street will be two-way for all vehicles, with protected cycle lanes in both directions.

The protected cycle lanes would separate cyclists from traffic using ‘light segregation’ – rubber blocks sometimes called ‘armadillos’, similar to those recently used on Royal College Street. All parking will be removed from Gower Street and Bloomsbury Street (loading bays would be available on Gower Street between 10am and 2pm, Monday to Sunday) and the road will raised to the same level as the pavement, in certain areas, to slow traffic. New Oxford Street will get new diagonal crossings at the junction of Tottenham Court Road and Oxford Street and again the road raised to the same level as the pavement, in certain areas, to slow traffic. The project will replace the one-way system on Tottenham Court Road and Gower Street with two-way tree-lined streets, which say Camden Council will help cut traffic and congestion in the area, reduce pollution and accidents, and make bus journeys quicker.

The project will also create four new public spaces, including a new pedestrianised plaza at the foot of Centre Point next to the new Crossrail station. In addition, a new park will be built in Alfred Place. Camden is currently seeking views on the proposals, with a public consultation until 18 July 2014.

Visit camden.gov.uk/westendproject to find out more. Councillor Phil Jones, Cabinet Member with responsibility for Transport comments: “Our ambitious West End Project will transform the Tottenham Court Road area into one of London’s premier commercial, cultural and academic districts. We’re aiming to make journeys quicker and safer, as well as creating a more attractive place for people to enjoy. We want to hear from local residents and businesses as part of our consultation to help us deliver a project which everyone can benefit from.”

The results of the consultation will be presented to a Council Cabinet meeting in late 2014, where a decision will be made on the project. If the project is approved by Councillors, construction will begin in early 2015 and be completed by 2018, subject to technical details and funding. Courtesy of Taxicabnews

Tottenham Court Road vision

 

 

T&PH performance is “Woefully Inadequate” says London Assembly report

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The London Assembly Transport Committee report entitled “Future Proof: Taxi and Private Hire Services in London” was published shortly before Christmas. In it, Transport for London’s performance in regulating the Taxi and Private Hire trades has been described as “woefully inadequate” by London Assembly members.

This criticism comes as the Assembly’s Transport Committee published the findings of a six month investigation into the state of the trades and TfL’s role as regulator.

The report states: “Efforts to modernise taxi and private hire services and meet passenger expectations are being hindered by the lack of a Mayoral strategy for the future of these trades. This makes it difficult for Transport for London (TfL) to regulate the industries efficiently and effectively. Taxi and private hire services form a crucial element of London’s public transport offer, including for some of the most vulnerable passengers, but competition from new technology, and changing passenger demands, are challenging the traditional ways in which these services are delivered. London’s taxi and private hire services will need to evolve to meet these challenges. Failure to address fundamental issues affecting the trades threatens to spark a race to the bottom in terms of standards, putting the travelling public at risk, and threatening London’s reputation as a world leader for these services.”

It continued by saying: “The inherent role of the regulator, TfL, is to protect the interests of the travelling public. We call on the Mayor and TfL to preserve the distinction between the licensed taxi and private hire industries, recognising that diversity of choice is critical to meeting passengers’ differing requirements. We need a clear strategy to ensure the survival and prosperity of both of these services, which covers three critical, inter-related areas of public interest:
safety, availability and accessibility.”

Taxicabnews

WCHCD Installation Dinner

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The Worshipful Company of Hackney Carriage Drivers held their Installation Dinner aboard HQS Wellington on 4th September.

Malcolm Paice was installed as the new Master. Following the Court meeting the Master and his Wardens welcomed guests on board HQS Wellington for pre-dinner drinks on deck. 99 people sat down to dine in what was once the ship’s engine room but is now a custom made livery hall, adding a feeling of comfort and warmth to the ship with displays of marine paintings, artefacts, gold and silver plate.

Dinner started with Reverend Dr Martin Dudley saying grace by reciting one of his remarkable unique poems about the London Taxi Industry. Guests dined on Smoked Fillet of Sea Bass, Lancashire beef and Baby
Pineapple filled with Creme Brulee. The Master thanked the Master Mariner for allowing the use of the
Hall; he congratulated the 3 new Liverymen and took wine with 10 new Freemen who were admitted to the company earlier that day.

After toasts and a speech from the Master, Doug Cheshire, Chairman of the London Vintage Taxi Association, responded and proposed a toast to the Company. Doug was known to Malcolm not only through the taxi industry but also because Doug, or Mr Cheshire as Malcolm used to know him, used to be Malcolm’s Woodwork teacher.

After the dinner Freemen and their guests were invited to join the Master in a Stirrup Cup.

Taxicabnews

Moving forward

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Following the announcement on 21st November from Nissan that it has suspended its London Taxi Project pending the outcome of London’s Ultra-Low Emission Zone consultation, there have been many comments from the trade.

The whole ULEZ consultation means there are many unanswered questions about the future of the trade at the moment. The fact is that that currently there is no taxi available to buy that is zero emission capable, but by 2018 this may have changed. Taxi Globe asked Peter Johansen, Vice President of The London Taxi Company for his comments. He said: “The London taxi trade is world famous for its high standards and proud heritage. It is a trade we are hugely proud to serve.

“The industry across the globe is continuously adapting to reflect evolving consumer needs, changing economic conditions and the need to become more sustainable and universally accessible to all. This is especially the case in London where regulators set a high pace for change. Nissan’s decision to postpone the launch of their taxi into London is the most recent reflection of some of these factors. But our previous difficulties and the issues currently being faced by Mercedes/KPM only serve to underline that success within the London hackney carriage market is no mean feat.

“That’s why we deliberately design and produce a purpose built taxi to meet the conditions for the London market. It’s also why we are always seeking new ways to improve the vehicle quality and service care we provide to our customers. This matters now more than ever. We know that some drivers will be disappointed not to see a new entrant into the market at this point. But we’re also confident in the product we’re offering now for professional drivers that want to drive the original iconic London Taxi, which is a favourite for tourists and commuters alike. Competition is vital for any automotive manufacturer and we know we must always fight for our place in London and beyond. The London Taxi now graces the streets of more than 40 cities across the world with any success firmly based on the foundations set and maintained by thousands of men and women in our capital city.

“As we move forward as a company and develop new products and services to meet changing demands we are confident that our experience and, more importantly, our relationship with the trade – from industry bodies to individual drivers – provides us with a clear competitive advantage.

“We are proud of our joint heritage with the London Taxi trade and our historical standing as a truly British icon. This is what drives us, every minute of every day.”

Taxicabnews